Gray Lady Down

"Trapped underwater... with time running out."

1978 1h 51m EN

👍

6.5

SOLID

★6.5TMDB · 95

ThrillerDramaAction

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

The USS Neptune, a nuclear submarine, is sunk off the coast of Connecticut after a collision with a Norwegian cargo ship. The navy must attempt a potentially dangerous rescue in the hope of saving the lives of the crew.

“Trapped underwater... with time running out.”

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Cast

Charlton Heston
Captain Paul Blanchard
David Carradine
Captain Gates
Stacy Keach
Captain Bennett
Ned Beatty
Mickey
Stephen McHattie
Murphy
Ronny Cox
Commander Samuelson
Dorian Harewood
Fowler
Rosemary Forsyth
Vickie Blanchard

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: David Greene
Writers: James Whittaker, Howard Sackler
Languages: Hungarian, Norwegian, English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

ERA

Did you know

48 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 3 languages: Hungarian, Norwegian, English.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by David Greene, shot by Stevan Larner. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Jerry Fielding. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Robert Swink shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Charlton Heston and David Carradine and Stacy Keach carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "Trapped underwater... with time running out.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0077629 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

David Greene directs. Stevan Larner behind the camera. Jerry Fielding scores. Robert Swink cuts. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in Hungarian, Norwegian, English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

148 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
2Dialogue crosses 3 languages: Hungarian, Norwegian, English.
3Directed by David Greene, shot by Stevan Larner. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Jerry Fielding. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Robert Swink shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Charlton Heston and David Carradine and Stacy Keach carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "Trapped underwater... with time running out.".
8IMDB entry: tt0077629 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Only 95 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.
10Classified under 8 themes, including "rescue", "drowning", "based on novel or book", "submarine".

The technical file

Cinematography: Stevan Larner
Original score: Jerry Fielding
Editing: Robert Swink
Production design: William H. Tuntke
Makeup / hair: Lon Bentley
Runtime: 111 min · 1h 51m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Box office: $5,438,927
Original language: EN
Certification (US): PG
IMDB: Gray Lady Down (1978)

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David Greene

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Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2023-06-04
★ 6/10
Charlton Heston is the Captain of the "USS Neptune", a nuclear submarine returning to port after his final mission in command. Whilst running on the surface they collide with a Norwegian boat with faulty radar and sink deep down into the Atlantic and end up perched precariously on a ledge prone to rockslides. It's now a race against time to rescue the seamen and Stacy Keach ("Capt. Bennett") is drafted in to lead the rescue with the help of "Capt. Gates" (David Carradine) who brings his revolutionary "Snark" DSRV to the scene of the accident. As usual, there are personality clashes a plenty; panic scenarios and temper tantrums as tools to try and develop story tension and suspense - they work well enough with the crew on the sub; much less so with the crew on the surface where the acting is far more of the willy-waving variety. Unlike many of these disaster movies, it's got good gadgets and they help keep it quite realistic.
Sierbahnn2026-06-14
★ 7/10
Disaster, thy name is Neptune. There were a lot of really good disaster movies in the seventies, and this is just a logical extension of that trend. A submarine gets trapped far beneath the waves and desperate attempts are made to rescue them. The casting is, of course, absolutely star packed, with minor characters being played by some of the best stars in the business. The main cast is just breathtaking. The movie holds its tension really well. It looks really good and is fantastically grounded. It is a child of its time and it reflects some of the values and trends of the era, but it is a great piece of cinema, and I would recommend it wholeheartedly.